John Atkins (American football)
John Atkins (born December 21, 1992) is an American football defensive tackle for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Georgia.
| No. 99 – Detroit Lions | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Defensive tackle | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | December 21, 1992 Thomson, Georgia | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 320 lb (145 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Thomson (Thomson, Georgia) | ||||||||
| College: | Georgia | ||||||||
| Undrafted: | 2018 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
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| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||
| Roster status: | Active | ||||||||
| Career NFL statistics as of 2019 | |||||||||
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| Player stats at PFR | |||||||||
College career
Atkins spent five seasons as a member of Georgia Bulldogs, redshirting his freshman year.[1] During his redshirt senior season, Atkins made 38 tackles, including one for a loss, as the Bulldogs' starting nose tackle.[2] He finished his collegiate career with 81 total tackles, 3.5 for loss, five pass deflections and a fumble recovery in 48 games played.[3]
Professional career
New England Patriots
Atkins signed with the New England Patriots as an undrafted free agent on April 29, 2018.[4] Considered a long shot to make the team, Atkins was cut by the Patriots at the end of training camp on September 1, 2018.[5][6]
Detroit Lions
Atkins was signed to the Detroit Lions' practice squad on September 3, 2018.[7] Atkins was waived by the team on November 30, 2018 but subsequently re-signed to the practice squad.[8] Aktins was promoted to the Lions' Active roster on December 18, 2018 after defensive tackle Da'Shawn Hand was placed on injured reserve.[9] Atkins made his NFL debut on December 23, 2018 in a 27-9 loss to the Minnesota Vikings, making two tackles (one for loss).[10]
On August 31, 2019, Atkins was waived by the Lions as part of final roster cuts, but was signed to the team's practice squad the next day.[11][12] He was promoted to the active roster on October 14.[13] Atkins played in 12 games during the 2019 season, including six starts, and made 20 tackles.[14]
References
- Butt, Jason (March 31, 2018). "John Atkins spent six years as an amateur football player. Now, it's off to the NFL 'to get some money'". The Telegraph. Retrieved December 21, 2018.
- Rowe, Jake (January 14, 2018). "At least four UGA players invited to NFL Combine thus far". 247Sports.com. Retrieved December 21, 2018.
- Phelps, Chris (May 26, 2019). "Countdown to Georgia football (historical edition): Number 97 John Atkins". UGA Wire. USA Today. Retrieved September 16, 2019.
- Herbert, Michael (April 29, 2018). "Free agency roundup: Undrafted former Georgia players sign with NFL teams". The Red & Black. Retrieved December 21, 2018.
- Buchmasser, Bernd (August 5, 2018). "New England Patriots 2018 roster breakdown: #TBD DT John Atkins". PatsPulpit.com. SB Nation. Retrieved December 21, 2018.
- Daniels, Mark (September 1, 2018). "Patriots cut 26 players with more moves to come". The Providence Journal. Retrieved December 21, 2018.
- Atkins, Nate (September 3, 2018). "Lions cut LB Trevor Bates and sign a DT to finalize practice squad". MLive.com. Advance Publications. Retrieved December 21, 2018.
- Schlitt, Erik (November 30, 2018). "Lions add WR Deontez Alexander to practice squad, waive DT John Atkins". Lions Wire. USA Today. Retrieved December 21, 2018.
- Rogers, Justin (December 18, 2018). "Lions place rookie Da'Shawn Hand on injured reserve". The Detroit News. USA Today. Retrieved December 21, 2018.
- "John Atkins Career Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 25, 2018.
- "Detroit Lions establish 53-man roster". DetroitLions.com. August 31, 2019.
- Meinke, Kyle (September 1, 2019). "Detroit Lions sign 10 players to practice squad". MLive.com. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
- "Lions sign DT John Atkins to active roster". DetroitLions.com. October 14, 2019.
- Twentyman, Tim (January 8, 2020). "2019 Position Breakdown: Defensive line". DetroitLions.com. Retrieved January 10, 2020.